WWE NXT Deadline 2023 is taking place at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut on December 9, 2023. Follow along here for spoilers and information on the event's card, lineup of matches and news regarding the pay-per-view.
The following are my predictions for the 2023 WWE NXT Deadline 2023 PPV. Check back for NXT Deadline 2023 results and review coverage here when the time comes.
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| WWE NXT Deadline 2023 Spoilers and Predictions |
NXT Championship Match: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Baron Corbin
Baron
Corbin is a rock solid opponent to defend against. He's tall, an
established main roster talent, has plenty of accolades to his name, but
is still at a level where it isn't crazy to imagine Dragunov retaining.
That's fully what I expect to happen, by the way. Not only would I be
shocked to see Dragunov lose the title right now in general, but I'd
particularly be surprised to see it be to Corbin, who I get a sense is
here in NXT to work with rookies and prep them for the next level,
rather than to be the guy himself.
PREDICTION: Ilja Dragunov retains.
Men's Iron Survivor Challenge: Bron Breakker vs. Dijak vs. Trick Williams vs. Josh Briggs vs. Tyler Bate
Keeping in mind how I think Ilja Dragunov will retain his title, I'd have to pick a heel that will win this. Dijak could work, but I'm leaning more toward Bron Breakker getting one more title shot before coming up to the main roster.
What can throw this all off, though, is that NXT operates in a different way than the main roster. We don't know exactly when the winner of this match will get their title shot. They could very easily have someone like Tyler Bate win this, give him a title shot on an episode of NXT like New Year's Evil, and then breeze past that and set up another heel to fight Dragunov for Vengeance Day.
Don't entirely count out the babyfaces, even though I think Josh Briggs winning will probably be the least likely scenario. And don't take that as criticism. I'm actually probably one of the biggest advocates of calling Briggs a future world champion.
For now, though, I'll play it safe and say Bron Breakker wins. I'm not entirely confident in that prediction, though.
PREDICTION: Bron Breakker wins.
Women's Iron Survivor Challenge: Blair Davenport vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Lash Legend vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley
Lash Legend shouldn't win by any means. I'm not even sure why she's in this match.
Kelani Jordan won't win, either, but I'm glad she's gotten a chance to shine after coming up short in the Breakout tournament.
I don't think I'd bet any high amount on Fallon Henley winning. I like her, but it just doesn't seem like she'll be the next challenger for Valkyria, especially considering how Lola Vice is warming up for a shot.
Blair Davenport and Tiffany Stratton both have a good chance at winning this.
At the moment, I'm leaning more toward Stratton, as I think we could see Davenport be the one to dethrone Lyra Valkyria at Stand & Deliver. I'm more so thinking the winner of this match will challenge at Vengeance Day.
NXT North American Championship Match: Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Wes Lee
I could definitely see Dom losing the title here. It depends on whether or not WWE wants someone else to hold the belt going into NXT Stand & Deliver, and if they have anyone else in line to fight at Vengeance Day and such. Since I can't think of anyone that stands out as a better option than Wes Lee, why not just go with him instead of overcomplicating things? Then again, it's certainly not a guarantee by any means. It wouldn't shock me if Dom retained and didn't drop the title until WrestleMania weekend.
Update: Wes Lee has been taken out of this match. Dragon Lee is now replacing him. Interesting. Dragon Lee was moved up to the SmackDown roster. Why go with him, instead of crowning someone else from NXT as the challenger? Now, we have two main roster folks (from opposite brands, mind you) fighting for an NXT title? Strange. Dragon Lee has had opportunities for this title and they opted not to give it to him. I just assume at this point that the same will continue and Dom is holding this belt until Mania, whether or not Wes Lee was the planned person he'd drop it to and those plans have shifted. Then again, I wouldn't be shocked if it were the other way around, and WWE just goes with Dragon Lee for the sake of it. But I'll stick with Dom, whereas my original idea was that Wes Lee would win it here.
PREDICTION: Dominik Mysterio retains.
Pre-Show: Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer
Unnecessary. I don't see the point in having this on the card, but no tag team title match. Then again, they seem to be more crazy over these guys than I am, so I guess we can just chalk this up to Shawn Michaels really wanting to see them go out there and wrestle a match for the sake of it. Whatever. It's a pre-show thing. It'll mean nothing and eat up some time.
Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez
Interesting that they decided to put these two in a separate match, rather than in the multi-woman match. Granted, they're two of the more prominent women on the roster, but it does downgrade some of the value of the Iron Survivor Challenge to not have two of the top challengers, you know?
With that being said, I think this is a match that can go either way, depending on the priority. If Roxanne wins, it's because they're keeping her as a hot prospect for a main roster boost in 2024. If it goes to Kiana James, I think that'll be because they know that Roxanne doesn't need the win. Frankly, between the two, I think the smarter play is to give it to Kiana, so she can be a challenger for Lyra Valkyria.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Lexis King
Hayes is on a downward spiral. King is on an upward climb. Whether it's by accident, heel shenanigans, a distraction, or something else happens along the way, I think King gets the victory here and Hayes continues to get more and more frustrated, leading to his eventual heel turn, which will see Hayes and Trick Williams battling it out at Stand & Deliver at WrestleMania weekend.
This page will be altered on a regular basis to reflect changes to the show including any new matches added to the lineup, adjustments to the card, revised predictions and any other information about this event. Stay tuned for the latest updates!
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